THE LATEST NEWS

Omega Museum – Biel, Switzerland

Thursday 19th April

"Can you service a vintage Omega?" "How much does it cost to service an old Omega?" "Is it possible for a dial restoration on my Omega?" "Can you relume the hands of my Omega?"

As an Omega service centre, everyday we deal with all forms of enquiries from proud Omega owners and we’re lucky to have a bunch of passionate watchmaker’s that take as much delight in servicing a vintage Omega from the 1960’s as they would servicing a modern Speedmaster. In short - we get to see quite the collection pass through our watchmaker's benches.

Working with such refined products day in day out means that inherently we've developed an obsessive level of knowledge of these beautiful watches and their intricacies and naturally; like any Omega enthusiast, a visit to the archive museum in Biel, Switzerland has been high on the agenda for quite a while.

ONE FOR THE OMEGA OBSESSIVES

Spanning over 160 years, a comprehensive timeline is provided complete with historical artefacts that are important not only in horology but also wider fields such as sporting, space travel and Hollywood. Fact files, a feature film and the educational supporting audio guide means that even the most hardened Omega fanatic is likely to learn something.

‘Alaska Project’ was the name give to a series of secret projects to create awatch perfectly suited to space. While many futuristic ideas were developed, the NASA qualified Speedmaster – nicknamed “Moonwatch” – remained clearly up to the task.

Apollo 16 Speedmaster, Moonwatch, Omega Museum, Biel, Switzerland

Richard Nixon Speedmaster, Moonwatch, Omega Museum, Biel, Switzerland

In 1970 OMEGA received a coveted Silver Snoopy Award for it’s role in helping the crew of the Apollo 13 mission safely back to earth.

Speedmaster, Moonwatch, Omega Museum, Biel, Switzerland

Richard Nixon Speedmaster, Moonwatch, Omega Museum, Biel, Switzerland

JFK Omega watch, Omega Museum, Biel, Switzerland

Worn by President John F. Kennedy at his inauguration as America’s 35thpresident in January of 1961.

Kennedy Omega watch, Omega Museum, Biel, Switzerland

Seamaster Omega watch, Omega Museum, Biel, Switzerland

Launched in 1948 to coincide with the brand’s 100th anniversary, the OMEGA Seamaster line is the oldest in the current collection.

Seamaster Omega watch, Omega Museum, Biel, Switzerland

Loosely based on the waterproof wristwatches made for the British military at the end of World War II, the Seamaster was first intended as a robust yet elegant watch for active individuals who wanted a watch for “town, sea and country”.

Omega olympics, Omega Museum, Biel, Switzerland

Omega’s other famous partnership…

Omega starting gun, Omega olympics, Omega Museum, Biel, Switzerland

“It was in 1932 that OMEGA became official Olympic timekeeper in Los Angeles, supplying 30 high precision chronographs, all of which had been certified as chronometers by the Observatory at Neuchâtel as well as the National Physics Laboratory in the United States to have an accuracy of 1%th of a second per day, to be use across all sports.” Source: Omega Sports Timing

Omega olympics, Omega Museum, Biel, Switzerland

“Needless to say, the scope of OMEGA’s Olympic Games commitment has evolved over the years. Nowadays, several hundred professional timekeepers and data handlers, supported by up to a thousand specially trained local volunteers, use some 400 tons of equipment including public and sport-specific scoreboards, miles and miles of cables and optical fibre, dozens of TV generators and state-of-the-art timekeeping and data-handling technology developed by OMEGA and adapted to the requirements of each sport.” Source: Omega Sports Timing

Omega olympics, Omega Museum, Biel, Switzerland

Louis Brandt’s original workbench. Louis a Swiss watchmaker founded his workshop in La Chaux-de-Fonds aged 23. Later to innovate the 19 line Omega callibre, a movement so popular the company adopted the name: OMEGA.

Omega Museum, Biel, Switzerland

A ladies’ platinum, diamond and sapphire “Grand Luxe montres bijoux”. About twelve months were necessary to assemble such a quantity, 12 carats, of sapphires of identical colour.

Omega’s new mechanical escapement launched in 1999 was a revelation, the Co-Axial invented by master watchmaker and developed by Omega used small contact surfaces meaning less friction, less lubrication and greater realibility.

Salvador dali, Omega museum, Biel, Switzerland

Prémonition des Tiroirs (The Premonition of Drawers) by Salvador Dali.

omega military watch, Omega museum, Biel, Switzerland

The two world wars, which had such a tragic impact on the history of the 20th century, did lead to great advances in technology. During that period, OMEGA was particularly innovative and delivered more than 110,000 watches, featuring waterproof and anti-magnetic technologies, to the Allied Forces and paved the way to the future of watchmaking.

omega military watch, Omega museum, Biel, Switzerland

omega military watch, Omega museum, Biel, Switzerland

James Bond watch, Omega 007, Omega museum, Biel, Switzerland

Bond has been accompanied by an Omega Seamaster on every mission since 1995’s Goldeneye, often helping out of dangerous situatations. Whilst obviously fantasy, the Seamaster was in fact worn by Royal Navy commanders and issued to military diver’s